Honolulu Police Chief's Ban On Visible Tattoos Sparks Criticism

Keone Nunes, a Native Hawaiian tattoo artist, says prayers to "awaken" the tattoo tools and bless the ink. Two "stretchers" pull the skin tight on the chest of Kaiola Farin to enable Nunes to tap straight lines.

Wayne YoshiokaHawaii Public Radio

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Originally published on July 1, 2014 6:37 pm

The Honolulu Police Department motto is "integrity, respect and fairness." But many of the Hawaiian natives on the force say the new rule banning visible tattoos isn't fair and doesn't respect their religious customs.

Keone Nunes is a practitioner who taps out tattoo designs just as they were done a thousand years ago. He uses a hand-held tool — a kind of miniature rake with needle-sharp tines made of animal tusks dipped in black ink. Uhi, or the artwork, is secondary to the prayers, protocols and techniques used in the ancient Native Hawaiian practice, he says.

"The symbols identified who you were," Nunes says. "There is a huge religious connotation to it."

But Honolulu's police chief, Louis Kealoha, sees it differently.

A Hawaiian native, Kealoha himself has a cultural tattoo on his right biceps but says his dress and grooming policy establishes uniform standards without exceptions.

"You can do that off-duty, but you cannot have any visible tattoos," says Kealoha. "That's going to take away from the professional image of the officer and of the reputation of the police department."

He is one of 400 Honolulu police officers — 20 percent of the force — who have tattoos on their arms, necks or faces.

Patrol officer Nick Schlapak's tattoos decorate his arm all the way from his wrist to his elbow. To cover them up, Schlapak, and others like him on the force, have the option of having their tattoos removed, covering them with skin-colored makeup or wearing long-sleeved shirts.

But the last option, Schlapak says, comes with its own problems — like when a suspect can grab onto the sleeves of the officer and cause harm.

"You can have safety issues in that respect," he says. "A long-sleeved uniform can be used against an officer."

There are also considerations of cost and comfort. Long-sleeved dark-blue uniforms are hot in tropical weather and cost up to $40 more than a short-sleeved version.The department already pays more than $300 annually for uniforms and basic upkeep. But Honolulu police union chairman Stan Aquino says the officers shouldn't have to bear the brunt of the additional cost.

More than the cost and the safety concerns, though, tattoo artists say that the rule itself is the real issue and proof of an underlying cultural bias.

"When they say that you have to cover up your tattoos or we're not going to hire you because of tattoos, they're looking at it from a very Western perspective," tattoo artist Nunes says.

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Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Police officers in Honolulu can't have tattoos showing when they're on the job. That ban went into effect there today. That's similar to policies in other cities, including New York and Los Angeles. But for native Hawaiians, tattoos are often a part of their cultural heritage. They say covering the body art impinges on their religious freedom. Wayne Yoshioka of Hawaii Public Radio filed this report.

WAYNE YOSHIOKA, BYLINE: A native Hawaiian cultural tattoo is tapped into the skin using a handheld tool. It resembles a miniature rake with needle-sharp tines made of animal tusks, dipped in black ink.

KEONE NUNES: Kakau is what we do. But what is remaining is called uhi.

YOSHIOKA: Keone Nunes is a practitioner who taps out tattoo designs, just as they were done a thousand years ago. Uhi, or the artwork, Nunes says, is secondary to the prayers, protocols and techniques used in the ancient, native Hawaiian process.

NUNES: The symbols identified who you were, identified who your family - had protective meanings for it. So there is a huge religious connotation to it.

YOSHIOKA: But Honolulu's police chief sees it differently. Louis Kealoha is a native Hawaiian who has a cultural tattoo on his right bicep but says his dress and grooming policy establishes uniform standards without exceptions.

LOUIS KEALOHA: You cannot say everybody with a cultural tattoo, you know, that's OK because you're expressing your cultural side. You can do that off-duty, but you cannot have any visible tattoos. That's going to take away from the professional image of the officer and of the reputation of the police department.

YOSHIOKA: More than 400 Honolulu police officers, 20 percent of the force, have tattoos on their arms, necks or faces. Their options are to remove the tattoos, cover them with skin-colored makeup, or wear long-sleeved shirts.

NICK SCHLAPAK: Well, I have several tattoos on my right arm. Almost all of them are visible in a short-sleeve uniform.

YOSHIOKA: Patrol officer Nick Schlapak has tattoos from his wrist to his elbow. Schlapak says covering up tattoos is about more than culture. It can also be risky.

SCHLAPAK: And long sleeved uniform can be used against an officer. A suspect can grab ahold of it, and sometimes it's hard to get their hands off of it. So you can have safety issues in that respect.

YOSHIOKA: Schlapak also says there are comfort and cost considerations. Long-sleeved, dark blue uniforms are hot in tropical weather and cost up to $40 more than a short-sleeved version. Honolulu police union chair Stan Aquino says the department should not penalize officers with tattoos.

STAN AQUINO: Our main purpose here is to identify where the cost is going to be coming from. You know, we believe it should come from the employer and not from the individual officers themselves.

YOSHIOKA: The department already pays more than $300 annually for uniforms and basic upkeep. But the main issue isn't really about money, comfort or safety. Tattoo practitioner Nunes says it's the cultural meaning and expression that's important.

NUNES: When they say that you have to cover up your tattoos or we're not going to hire you because of tattoos, they're looking at it from a very Western perspective. But when you look at it in a more indigenous perspective, they're not understanding the conflicts that might occur with the Freedom of Religion Act and things of that nature.

YOSHIOKA: The Honolulu Police Department motto is integrity, respect and fairness. Officers with tattoos say they would like the department to respect their freedom to express their culture. For NPR News, I'm Wayne Yoshioka in Honolulu.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.